Exercise Valiant Shield is one of the largest

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

war games held in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. Nine Valiant Shield exercises were conducted between 2006 and 2022. According to the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

, Valiant Shield focuses on cooperation between military branches and on the detection, tracking, and engagement of units at sea, in the air, and on land in response to a wide range of missions. The first exercise in 2006 involved 22,000 personnel, 280 aircraft, and 30 ships, including the supercarriers , , and . It was the largest military exercise to be conducted by the United States in Pacific waters since the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, and it was also the first time observers from the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...

were allowed to view U.S. wargames. The exercise marked the first of what will become biennial exercises involving different branches of the U.S. military. Valiant Shield 2006 included Navy,

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

, and Coast Guard units. Air operations included thousands of sorties as well as in-air refuelings and parachute deployments. Aircraft from Valiant Shield deployed on missions ranging across the Pacific all the way to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

. Ships simulated anti-submarine warfare. Valiant Shield 2006 was the first time that three carrier strike groups had operated together in the Pacific in over ten years. Forces exercised a wide range of skills, including maritime interdiction; defense counter-air; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and command and control.

Observers

Observers from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy were invited to attend, as were naval officers from

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, Japan, Australia,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It was the first time observers from the People's Republic of China had ever been sent to observe U.S. war games. China sent a ten-person delegation, including one high-ranking officer each from its navy, army, and air force, as well as officials from its foreign ministry. According to ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'', Chinese military observers said that observing the exercises gave them a better understanding of U.S. weapons and tactics.

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Zhang Leiyu, leader of the delegation, called the visit to the war games near Guam "a positive step in China-U.S. military ties." Military ties between the United States and China have not been close ever since a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

government came to power in China. Admiral

William J. Fallon William Joseph Fallon (born December 30, 1944) is a retired United States Navy four-star admiral who retired after serving for over 41 years. His last military assignment was as Commander, U.S. Central Command from March 2007 to March 2008. ADM ...

, the top U.S. commander in the Pacific, said it was "a start" that China accepted his invitation to observe the large-scale exercises. Fallon indicated before the exercises began that he expected China to reciprocate. However, neither Zhang or the Xinhua report gave any indication that such an invitation was forthcoming. The exercise had implications for other world events as well, including acting as a show of force to possibly deter

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

from test-firing its new

Taepodong-2 The Taepodong-2 (TD-2, also spelled as Taep'o-dong 2)
Federation of American Scientists, May 30, 2008 ( ko, � ...

missile.

Participating forces

The following U.S. forces participated in Valiant Shield 2006: *Joint Task Force 519 staff,

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

*Joint Task Force 519 Joint Force Air Component Command, Kenney Headquarters,

Hickam AFB Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed Joint ...

, Hawaii *Joint Task Force 519 Joint Force Maritime Component Command, aboard USS Blue Ridge

United States Navy

Carrier Strike Group Five/Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group

* USS ''Kitty Hawk'', (CV-63),

United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka or is a United States Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan. Its mission is to maintain and operate base facilities for the logistic, recreational, administrative support and service of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, Seventh Fleet and other operatin ...

, Japan * Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5),

Naval Air Facility Atsugi is a joint Japan-US naval air base located in the cities of Yamato, Kanagawa, Yamato and Ayase, Kanagawa, Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean and once housed t ...

, Japan * USS ''Cowpens'', (CG-63), Yokosuka, Japan * USS ''John S. McCain'', (DDG-56), Yokosuka, Japan * USS ''Vandegrift'', (FFG-48), Yokosuka, Japan * USS ''Lassen'', (DDG-82), Yokosuka, Japan * USS ''Curtis Wilbur'', (DDG-54), Yokosuka, Japan * USS ''Fitzgerald'', (DDG-62), Yokosuka, Japan

Carrier Strike Group Nine/Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group

* USS ''Abraham Lincoln'', (CVN-72), Naval Station Everett, Wash. * Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2),

Naval Air Station Lemoore Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore is a United States Navy base, located in Kings County and Fresno County, California, United States. Lemoore Station, a census-designated place, is located inside the base's borders. NAS Lemoore is the Nav ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

* USS ''Mobile Bay'', (CG-53),

Naval Station San Diego Naval Base San Diego, also known as 32nd Street Naval Station, is the second largest surface ship base of the United States Navy and is located in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, con ...

, Calif. * USS ''Shoup'', (DDG-86), Everett, Wash. * USS ''Russell'', (DDG-59)

Carrier Strike Group Seven/Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group

* USS ''Ronald Reagan'', (CVN-76), San Diego, Calif. * Carrier Air Wing Fourteen (CVW-14), Lemoore, Calif. * USS ''Decatur'', (DDG-73), San Diego, Calif. * USS ''Lake Champlain'', (CG-57), San Diego, Calif. * USS ''McCampbell'', (DDG-85), San Diego, Calif. * USNS ''Rainier'', (T-AOE-7), Naval Base Bremerton,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Other Navy Units

* USS ''Blue Ridge'', (LCC-19), Yokosuka, Japan * USS ''Houston'', (SSN-713), Guam * USS ''Honolulu'', (SSN-718), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii *USS Hampton, (SSN-767) *USS Key West, (SSN-722) * USS ''City of Corpus Christi'', (SSN-705),

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic ce ...

* USS ''Tucson'', (SSN-770), Pearl Harbor, Hawaii * USS Frank Cable, (AS-40), Apra Harbor, Guam * USNS ''Impeccable'', (T-AGS-23) *RV Cory Chouest * MV PFC ''James Anderson Jr.'', (T-AK-3002) * MV MAJ ''Bernard F. Fisher'', (T-AK-4396) * USNS ''Watson'', (T-AKR-310) *SS ''Cape Jacob'', (T-AK-5029) * SS ''Petersburg'', (T-AOT-9101) *Helicopter Anti-Submarine Light 51 (HSL-51),

SH-60 The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificatio ...

Detachments 1,2,3,4,6,11, Atsugi, Japan *

VP-9 Patrol Squadron 9 (VP-9) is a U.S. Navy patrol squadron with its homeport located at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. As of 2018, VP-9 is part of Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Ten, Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific. The squadron was estab ...

(Patrol Squadron Nine), P-3C Detachment,

Kaneohe, Hawaii Kāneohe () is a census-designated place (CDP) included in the City and County of Honolulu and located in Hawaii state District of Koolaupoko on the island of Oahu. In the Hawaiian language, ''kāne ohe'' means "bamboo man". According to an an ...

*Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One, EP-3E Detachment, Misawa, Japan * Strategic Communications Wing One, E-6 Mercury Detachment

United States Air Force

13th Air Force/Kenney Headquarters (PACAF)

*Pacific Air Operations Center, Hickam AFB, Hawaii *

36th Wing The United States Air Force's 36th Wing is the host wing for Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. It is part of Pacific Air Forces' Eleventh Air Force. The 36th Wing provides day-to-day mission support to more than 9,000 military, civilian, dependent ...

, Andersen AFB, Guam

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organi ...

18th Wing The United States Air Force's 18th Wing is the host wing for Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan and is the Air Force's largest combat wing. It is the largest and principal organization in the Pacific Air Forces Fifth Air Force. The Wing's 18th Ope ...

Kadena AB ( IATA: DNA, ICAO: RODN) is a highly strategic United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is often referred to as the "Keystone of the Pacific" because of its hig ...

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, Japan (

F-15C The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American Twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather Air combat manoeuvring#Tactics, tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States ...

KC-135 The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transpo ...

/E-3) *

35th Fighter Wing The 35th Fighter Wing is an air combat unit of the United States Air Force and the host unit at Misawa Air Base, Japan. The wing is part of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)'s Fifth Air Force. The wing was first activated in August 1948 at Johnson Ai ...

Misawa AB is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), the United States Air Force, and the United States Navy located in Misawa, Aomori, in the northern part of the island of Honshū of Japan. It is located northeast of Misawa railwa ...

, Japan (

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

CJ)

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces ...

509th Bomb Wing The 509th Bomb Wing (509 BW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command, Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The 509 BW is the host unit at Whiteman, and operates ...

Whiteman AFB Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located just south of Knob Noster, Missouri, United States. The base is the current home of the B-2 Spirit bomber. It is named for 2nd Lt George Whiteman, who was killed during the attack ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

( B-2)

11th Air Force (PACAF)

* 3rd Wing,

Elmendorf AFB Elmendorf Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) facility in Anchorage, Alaska. Originally known as Elmendorf Field, it became Elmendorf Air Force Base after World War II. It is the home of the Headquarters, Alaskan Air Command (AL ...

(

F-15E The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relyi ...

)

Eighteenth Air Force Eighteenth Air Force (Air Forces Transportation) (18 AF) is the only Numbered Air Force (NAF) in Air Mobility Command (AMC) and one of the largest NAFs in the United States Air Force. 18 AF was activated on 28 March 1951, inactivated on 1 Janu ...

60th Air Mobility Wing The 60th Air Mobility Wing (60 AMW) is the largest air mobility organization in the United States Air Force and is responsible for strategic airlift and air refueling missions around the world. It is the host unit at Travis Air Force Base in Cal ...

, Travis AFB

(

KC-10 The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is an American aerial refueling tanker aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). A military version of the three-engine DC-10 airliner, the KC-10 was developed from the Advanced Tanker Cargo A ...

) *

305th Air Mobility Wing The 305th Air Mobility Wing is a United States Air Force strategic airlift and air refueling wing under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command. It generates, mobilizes and deploys C-17 Globemaster III and KC-10 Extender aircraft. T ...

McGuire AFB McGuire AFB/McGuire, the common name of the McGuire unit of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Air Force base in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, approximately south-southeast of Trenton. McGuire is under the ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

(KC-10)

New York Air National Guard The New York Air National Guard (NY ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of New York, United States of America. It is, along with the New York Army National Guard, an element of the New York National Guard. As state militia units, the units i ...

* 107th Air Refueling Wing, Niagara Falls International Airport (KC-135) 220531-M-LS844-1001

United States Marine Corps

I Marine Expeditionary Force The I Marine Expeditionary Force ("I" pronounced "One") is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) of the United States Marine Corps primarily composed of the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 1st Marine Logistics Group. It is ...

Camp Pendleton, California Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...

III Marine Expeditionary Force III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) is a formation of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps. It is forward-deployed and able to rapidly conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and d ...

Okinawa, Japan is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

United States Coast Guard

* USCGC ''Galveston Island'' (WPB-1349),

References

External links

{{commons, Valiant Shield 2006 in military history Military exercises involving the United States United States Navy in the 21st century